Preparatory projects next generation strategic innovation programs

The next generation of strategic innovation programs is now being designed, Impact Innovation.

With this the offer, actors in the innovation system get an opportunity to develop what will form the basis for future innovation programs.

Proposal for a preparatory project shall describe a system change and its potential to generate global competitiveness, for Sweden, through transition for sustainable development. Proposal must also describe the team's ability and plan to engage and mobilize relevant actors in the preparation project to develop an actor-driven innovation program. The system change must address one or more of the following three designated challenge areas:

• Good and equal health
• Attractive and well-functioning communities
• Production, consumption and value chains within the boundaries of the planet

The preparatory projects are expected to result in concrete proposals for bold, ambitious, time-bound and measurable objective, so-called missions. The preparatory projects must create the conditions for a future programme by bringing together actor constellations that can drive change in line with the proposed mission(s). Those who apply for preparatory projects are expected to have the ambition to be involved in forming the coordinating and actor-collecting function (corresponding to the current program office) that will run a future innovation program.

The purpose of the future innovation programs within Impact Innovation is that they should function as powerful and actor-driven instruments that mobilize actors to work together towards a common objective, mission. The programs must accelerate development in strategically important areas for Sweden with broad social relevance. The programs must integrate strategic investments for strengthened international cooperation both within the EU and globally that give clearly positive effects to the missions that are formulated. It will be required that the programs can involve all relevant actors, financiers and expert authorities so that the goals can be reached.

Within the call for proposals, we intend to finance preparatory projects with up to SEK 1.5 million for a project duration of a maximum of eight months.

It is increasingly crucial to have actor-driven and force-gathering investments in step with the rapid social changes that are taking place nationally and globally. With this the offer, we want to create the conditions for new actor-driven and long-term innovation programs through preparatory projects. The future programs must address areas of social relevance to ensure greater systemic effects, clearly contribute to global competitiveness through transition for sustainable development and have a clearly stated direction, i.e. mission. The programs must be able to drive different types of efforts and activities to strengthen or develop new or existing Swedish areas of strength through system innovation and research as well as by building up and attracting excellence.

In order to achieve a clear direction, the Swedish Energy Agency, Formas and Vinnova have identified three overall challenge areas for the investment. In proposal for preparatory projects, the potential to achieve a system change that addresses one or more of the three designated challenge areas must be described.

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Figure 1. The three designated challenge areas good and equal health, well-functioning and attractive societies as well as production, consumption and value chains within the planet's borders.

Outcome targets for the preparatory projects financed in this call for proposals are:

• Formulated mission, i.e. bold, ambitious, time-bound and measurable objective that contribute to global competitiveness through transformation for sustainable development
• Engaged partners who complement each other for a proposal to mobilize and implement an innovation program within Impact Innovation
• An analysis, linked to the mission(s) that have been formulated, which includes:

Identified and valued development paths, i.e. hypotheses about how objective are to be reached

Different parties and actors that will be important to achieve the goals of the program

How effects can be generated for global competitiveness and attractiveness through sustainable development

How to achieve international pooling of power through funding and cooperation within the EU and with countries outside the EU

System innovation for sustainable development

The preparatory projects are expected to create conditions for future programme that work with innovation with a systems perspective.

This means:

• International cutting-edge research and competence
• New technical solutions (techniques, products and processes)
• Working business or value models
• Supporting infrastructure and production systems
• Enabling Policy and Regulations
• Mobilization and formation of cross-border actor networks
• Permissive culture and redefinition of values and norms

The above dimensions are based on Miedzinski et al. 2017

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Figure 2. The picture visualizes the process going forward with the call for proposals this autumn which closes on 30/11 2022, the mobilization process in the spring of 2023 and the call for proposals about programme within Impact Innovation which closes in the autumn of 2023. This process is planned to be carried out once more, with a call for proposals on preparation projects that close in autumn 2025 and mobilization process in spring 2026 and a call for proposals on programme within Impact Innovation that close in autumn 2026.

Mobilization process - arena for actor involvement where networks are created, ideas grow and learning takes place

The preparatory projects aim to build the foundation for the innovation program of the future. In order to strengthen the conditions for successful programme, a mobilization process will be organized in the spring of 2023. This mobilization process will include, among other things, a series of seminars and methodological support to enable wider collaborations and jointly create understanding and commitment to how complex societal challenges can be solved. The seminars will, for example, include themes that aim to increase knowledge of systems perspective and mission-oriented working methods. Furthermore, an opportunity is offered, open to everyone, to make new contacts in various types of dialogue forums. This is to create trust, commitment and further develop networks as well as develop ideas and abilities together with others.

Impact Innovation - new innovation program

The next generation innovation program, Impact Innovation, which is now being designed, builds on strengths, experiences and lessons from ongoing strategic innovation programs that started in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017. For more powerful effects, a number of larger programme must be prioritized in areas that are strategically important for Sweden. These programme must work system-oriented with advanced and ground-breaking research and innovation. To achieve system-changing results, a variety of different efforts and activities will be required, such as policy labs, research and innovation projects, research schools, system demonstrators and international cooperation.

The call for proposals for proposal on the formation of new innovation programs closes tentatively in the fall of 2023. The call for proposals will be open to all constellations of actors, regardless of whether they have received funding for a preparatory project or not. Individual organizations or actor constellations that carry out preparatory projects are not locked in that formation before the call for proposals in the next step. In other words, actors may be added and left before proposal for new innovation programs in autumn 2023. The Energy Agency, Formas and Vinnova plan to finance a maximum of five long-term innovation programs which will start in January 2024.

Each programme will have a coordinating and actor gathering function (corresponding to the current program office) which will catalyze, prioritize and drive strategically important initiatives.

A new call for proposals on preparatory projects plans to open in 2025. It is expected to result in two to four more innovation programs tentatively starting in 2027.

With this the offer, we are targeting actors who want to develop and run a future innovation program. In this the offer, we have no eligibility requirements on the number of parties, but the credibility, ability and plan of participating actors to mobilize and engage relevant actors is part of the assessment.

Only legal entities can be project parties. An organization that is a participant takes part in the design of the project, contributes to its implementation and shares the risk and the result in connection therewith.

Participant seeking funding must be a Swedish legal entity with its seat in Sweden. In this respect, a foreign organization that has a branch or place of business in Sweden is equated with a Swedish legal person. The costs in the project must be attributable to the branch's or establishment's activities.

The types of project activities that can be funding in this the call for proposals must be of the nature Feasibility study.

Approved activities within the framework of this the call for proposals are, for example:

• Formulate and develop mission(s)
• Analyzes that will form the basis of a proposal for a future innovation program
• Identify and engage actors and partners
• Participation in the mobilization process organized by funding agencies.

What is not funded in this the call for proposals is for example:

• Project that does not have the ambition to submit a proposal to an innovation program
• Technical development
• Project proposal that does not address one or more of the challenge areas

Eligible costs

Our funding takes place through funding. Funding for organizations that carry out economic activities is covered by rules on state support. The rules govern, among other things, which types of costs and what proportion of them may be covered by funding. Which costs are eligible for support is shown in the document below:

Instructions for eligible costs

Read more about our general terms and conditions for funding and a guide to the conditions for eligible costs on our website: Vinnova's general terms and conditions for funding | Vinnova

The grant can amount to a maximum of SEK 1.5 million per project.

Co-financing is not an eligibility requirements for a project in this the call for proposals, but the maximum level of support per participant who conducts economic activities is given in accordance with rules on government support. More information about support levels can be found in the document

Support levels, definitions etc. for funding according to Vinnova's support scheme

Support for economic activities is given according to the support level for Feasibility Study. Funding for actors who carry out economic activities can also be granted according to the regulation on support of minor importance (so-called de minimis support).

project The projects that are financed are expected to have an implementation time of eight months.

We will only assess applications that meet the following formal eligibility requirements:

• The project parties are legal entities
• Proposal is written in Swedish or English
• Proposal follows the instructions from section "How to apply"

Note that sole proprietorships or sole traders are not legal entities.

Applications that do not meet the formal requirements will not be assessed, and will be rejected without further justification.

What do we assess?

Potential

(ie the potential of the preparatory project to result in a future proposal on innovation program that is in line with the Impact Innovations aim and objective). To what extent the proposal describes

• Potential to, through the described system change, contribute to solutions within one or more of the three identified challenge areas
• Potential to contribute to global competitiveness through change for sustainable development through system innovation
• Strategic importance for Sweden and the potential to strengthen or develop new or existing Swedish areas of strength

Actors

(i.e. who the project parties and other actors are and how the cooperation between them is organized to implement the project and reach the project's performance goals). To what extent the proposal describes

• Actors' credibility and ability to mobilize and engage relevant actors to formulate joint mission(s)
• How well competence and capacity that are crucial for the project's implementation are present
• How well the project team is composed with respect to gender distribution, including the distribution of power and influence between women and men

Feasibility

(ie how the project has been designed to achieve its performance objectives). To what extent the proposal describes

• How well working methods, organization and involvement of project parties and relevant actors provide the conditions to formulate and anchor relevant joint mission(s)
• How well the activities provide the conditions to mobilize and plan for a future programme, as well as engage partners who complement each other, before a proposal within Impact Innovation
• Projektplanens and the credibility and realism of the budget

Another aspect involves analyzing and deciding whether there are gender and/or gender aspects that are relevant in connection with the described system change. This question is mandatory for all applicant and can be found under the heading " Project tasks". In this call for proposals, the question is notthe basis for assessment. Read more about what our work for equal innovation means for you who seek funding from us.

How do we judge?

The assessment is based on the electronic proposal that has been submitted to Vinnova via Vinnova's eservices portal (see section 10). The applications that meet the formal requirements according to chapter 7 are evaluated against the assessment criteria in section 8.1 by expert programme manager at Vinnova, the Energy Agency and Formas, supplemented by specially appointed external evaluator, appointed by Vinnova. The combined evaluation results in a recommendation, based on which Vinnova, Formas and the Energy Agency together decide which applications are to be granted funding.

Vinnova, Formas and the Swedish Energy Agency reserve the right to apply a portfolio perspective when selecting applications that are granted.

About our decisions

How much each party in the project is granted in funding appears in the decision. funding can be granted with the support of Article 25 of the EU Commission Regulation No. 651/2014, feasibility study. Funding can also be given according to regulation (2009:1101) with instruction for the Agency for innovation system. The basis for support appears in the decision and also governs which costs are eligible for support.

Funding to economic actors can also be granted according to the regulation on support of minor importance (EU no. 1407/2013). This type of support is also called de minimis support.

Our decision to grant or reject a proposal cannot be appealed.

Term for granted funding

For granted funding, our general terms and conditions for funding apply. The terms contain, among other things, rules about project agreements, conditions for payment, follow-up, reporting and utilization of results. Scientific publication must take place with open access in accordance with Vinnova's instructions.

For everyone who is granted funding in this the call for proposals, the following special conditions also apply:

1. The following term replaces § 1.4 in the general terms and conditions.

Project agreement is not required in this project, but should be drawn up between the parties if deemed appropriate.

2. The following term replaces § 7.3 in the general terms and conditions. In information about the project and in every publication of project results, it must be stated that the work has been carried out within Impact Innovation, a joint effort by Vinnova, Formas and the Swedish Energy Agency. Publication means, for example, publication and oral presentations.

3. The project must be represented by at least one participant on the occasions organized by the authorities within the mobilization process.

Supplementary special conditions can be decided for individual projects project.

If you do not follow our term you may be liable for repayment. This also applies if you have been granted funding incorrectly or with an amount that is too high.